


Borrower!Pidge's Adventure

by Gothleaf



Category: The Borrowers - All Media Types, Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Borrowers Fusion, G/T, borrowers crossover
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-22
Updated: 2020-05-24
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:42:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,892
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24325960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gothleaf/pseuds/Gothleaf
Summary: Pidge turns 15 and gets to go on her first borrowering. It does not go as planned!Featuring: Roomba, Pidge holding a knife, and a sad scene.
Kudos: 21





	1. A New World

“Do you want another piece of cake, birthday girl?” Colleen asked.

She got up and held out the leftover cake on the quarter dish. Pidge shook her head and leaned back in her seat.

“No thanks,” Pidge said.

“Are you sure? You barely ate anything,” her mother said.

“I don’t want to get any cramps,” Pidge said, “on my first borrowing.”

Collen hesitated as she reached for her husband and son’s dishes. Her tail twitched in an anxious way.

“Are you certain that you want to go borrowing?” She asked. “Traditionally, the men go borrowing. You're so small and young and it’s so dangerous. What if something happened to you?”

“Mom,” Pidge whined. “We don’t live in the 80’s. Women can do everything men can. I’m 15 and Matthew was the same age when he first went borrowing.”

“Don’t worry, mom,” Matthew said as he handed her his dish. “We will bring her back in one piece.”

Samuel got up and kissed his wife on the cheek. “It is just a simple trip to the kitchen for a few things. Nothing too complicated.”

He turned to Pidge. “If you're ready, go change into something light. You can open presents when we get back.”

Pidge nodded and ran out of the kitchen and to her room. She stumbled over her dirty clothes, loose tools, and screwdriver on the floor as she reached her bed. She slid off her overalls and green shirt and pulled on the green onesie. She tied her brown hair up into a bun and brushed the puff of hair on her tail. Pidge looked into the makeup mirror hanging on her wall and smiled.

“No big deal,” Pidge muttered to herself. “I just have to do a perfect job borrowing, impress my dad, and show everyone that I can take care of myself.”

There was a knock on the door and Pidge flinched. The door opened a crack and Matthew’s head popped in. “You ready? Wow.”

Matthew stepped in. He was wearing a black outfit and cloak. “You look so cute!”

“Shut up,” Pidge said. She grabbed her white backpack and pushed Matthew out.

They walked to the backdoor where their mother was straightening her husband’s light brown clothes.

“Katie, you look great,” Colleen said. She grabbed her daughter and squeezed her tightly. “It’s not too late to back out,”

Pidge wiggled out of her grip. “Mom. I’m going.”

“Let’s go,” Her father said. “The human should have left by now.”

“Be safe,” Colleen said. Pidge waved goodbye and followed her brother and father out.

Samuel turned on his small light bulb that illuminated their path in the dark surroundings. Pidge followed silently as they weaved around boxes as tall as mountains, squeezed through piles of forgotten junk, and climbed over dusty items. Pidge observed her surroundings with awe as they passed the distance that she had ever been allowed to stray from home. She was in new territory.

Eventually they reached a clearing which led to the basement steps. Pidge looked up at the huge steps and wondered how she was supposed to climb it. The steps were seven inches high, about four inches taller than her.

“How are we going—"

“Katie, this way,” her father said. He was near the side of the stairs. Pidge ran up to them and they walked along the side wall of the stairs. They reached the metal shelf and walked underneath it. Pidge made a face at the amount of dust that got on her legs. Matthew ran ahead and started winding a lever that was attached to some gears on the wall. Their father joined him and there was a click. They stopped and smirked at Pidge’s expression of confusion. Together they strode over to a booth on the wall and flicked on the small light bulb attached to the side. Their tails waved proudly behind them.

“Is that a track going up the wall attached to the booth?” Pidge asked.

They nodded.

“And that lever is attached to a motor…” Pidge mumbled to herself as she inspected the gears. A lightbulb went off in her head. She turned to them. “That’s a borrower elevator, isn’t it?”

Matthew literally patted himself on the back. Samuel was slightly humbler.

“Your brother came up with the idea a few years ago when I bruised my back,” He said. “We worked on it for weeks, using the spare parts from the basement. Sometimes we even had to go upstairs to get what we needed. It is one of our most genius inventions.”

Matthew opened a side door. “Climb in and tell us how it works,”

Pidge climbed in and he closed the door behind her.

“Keep all hands, tails and feet inside at all time,” he said.

He gave their dad a thumbs up. Samuel pressed the big red button on the wall and Pidge shot up into the air. The shelf levels whirled past her as she went up. The booth slowed as it approached the top of the stairs. It stopped an inch from the top.

“What am I supposed to do now?” Pidge wondered. She spotted a stand on the wall next to her and a ladder doing up the rest of the way. “I guess I climb.”

Pidge stepped onto the stand and the booth started to descend. She watched for a moment before climbing the ladder and pulling herself over the edge. She brushed off her outfit and looked around. To her right was the descending stairs. She couldn’t see past the fourth step, much less her home located in the darkness. She looked to the left and gasped. There was a door. A human door. She had to crane her neck up to see the doorknob. She couldn’t see the top.

“Humans must be huge,” Pidge whispered.

She turned when she heard the clicking of the elevator. Shortly, her father and then her brother appeared. They walked up to her. Samuel clasped her shoulders in sympathy.

“Just wait till you are on the other side,” he said.

Though a hidden and much smaller door on the side wall next to the human door, they crossed over to the other side. Pidge froze as she took in her surroundings. Her tail reflexively curled around her leg. _Everything is so huge_ , she thought. _I’m so small_.

The world around her expanded till she felt as small as a speck. The door faced a large room filled with a couch, tables, and cabinets propped against the walls. They resembled the furniture in the Holt’s house, except they were gigantic. Pidge estimated that they were a hundred times bigger than theirs. _Does that mean humans are a hundred times bigger than borrowers?_ Pidge wondered.

She looked to her father who was waiting patiently for her. Pidge had always looked up to her father, both figuratively and literally. Her father was the tallest in the family, a bit more than 5 inches. He was miniscule compared to their surroundings. Pidge was left without words as her perspective of the world suddenly and drastically changed.

“Take as long as you need,” he said. “It was a shock to me and your brother our first time.”

The minutes passed with a click from some hidden clock. Pidge took a deep breath and tried to accept how small she was.

“Okay, I think—What’s that?” Pidge exclaimed.

She pointed at a black shape that came out from behind the couch.


	2. A New Friend

Her brother whipped out his staff before spotting what she was pointing at and relaxed. The object in question was small and circular shaped. It rolled around the room till it reached the wall. It turned around and started the other way.

“I believe I heard the human call it a Roamba,” Samuel said. “It cleans the house by sucking up the dirt. You were little when the human got it, but before it, the human had a large contraption that made a loud noise. Your mother hated it.”

Pidge’s fear turned to excitement. She ran towards only for her father to catch her sleeve. “We came up here on a job. Let’s go before the human gets back.

Pidge frowned and watched the Roamba roll out of view. She walked sullenly behind her father and brother as they crossed the vast room to a doorway on the side. It opened to a smaller room filled with furniture and cabinets and a door. Matthew started pointing out various gadgets like the Fridge and Stove to Pidge as they made their way to the closed cupboard. Samuel and Matthew grabbed the door and pulled it open a crack. Matthew inserted his staff between the door to keep it open. Samuel turned to his daughter.

“Since this is your first time you will be on lookout.”

“What?” Pidge said. “That’s not fair.”

“Maybe next time you can help out, but it’s for the best,” he said. Matthew climbed inside and disappeared. “I mean it Katie. Stay and keep a lookout.”

He stepped inside and disappeared.

“Look out for what?” Pidge yelled in frustration. There was no answer.

Pidge paced back and forth fuming. _This was supposed to be my time to shine_ , she thought. _They probably won’t even let me come next time. I hate this_.

She paused when a familiar black shape crossed the doorway view. Pidge glanced from the cabinet to the open doorway.

“I might as well make this trip worth it,” She said and ran for the door.

Pidge searched the room till her eyes landed on the Roamba that stood in one place. She watched curiously as the Roamba shook and the sound of whirling came from it, but it stayed still. She approached it cautiously and noticed something stuck underneath it.

“It’s okay. I think I can help you,” she said softly to the machine.

Pidge grabbed the edge of the fabric and pulled. Slowly, inch by inch, more fabric came out. With a strong pull, all the fabric came out and Pidge landed on her butt. She held up the white fabric and realized it was a huge soak. It was bigger than her. The Roamba beeped and started moving again.

Pidge smiled. “Your welcome,” she said. “Hey, wait up.”

She ran to catch up with the robot and, with a leap, jumped onto it’s back. Pidge threw her hands into the air and shrieked with joy as they moved through the room. She petted its back.

“I think I am going to name you…Rover,” she stated. “Do you like that, Rover?”

The machine kept cleaning silently, but Pidge wasn’t deterred. She kept talking to Rover as it cleaned. She was describing her home in the basement and how it was hidden in a pile of junk when the robot beeped. It started heading for another room, the opposite way of the kitchen.

“Wait, don’t go that way,” she said as she climbed off Rover and ran in front of it. The machine beeped and tried to go around her, but she blocked it. “If you go there, I can’t follow you. I have to stay in the kitchen. Why don’t you go in the kitchen too?”

The machine beeped again and with a few more blocks, it changed its course. Pidge managed to lead it towards the kitchen. She discussed several of her ideas as to how the machine worked and expressed how she would love to figure it out. As they reached the doorway, a tingling sensation climbed up her back to her neck.

A large shadow covered her. A dark shape suddenly appeared in front of her. A foot bigger than her appeared. Pidge instinctively ran to the side. The foot landed on the Roamba and the machine and body was sent flying. With a loud crash, the body landed. The ground shooked. Pidge ducked by the doorway. She tried to become small and invisible.

“What the hell?” Exclaimed a loud voice. Pidge watched as the human stood up. She couldn’t see his face, but she could see his feet. It strode over to Rover. The robot had landed on its back and was beeping loudly.

“Rover…” Pidge whispered.

With sharp movement, the foot shot out and hit the Roamba. It flew across the room and slammed into the wall. The beeping stopped.

“Stupid piece of junk,” He said and left the room.

Pidge sat shaking for several minutes. She didn’t even realize she was crying till her brother came up and cradled her.

“It’s okay,” he said over and over again.

Her father joined them and pulled the two up. They sprinted across the room to the hidden door. Pidge spotted Rover against the wall and her heart broke. It was on its back again, but this time it was still and silent. Her father gently pushed her through the door.

The way back to the house went by fast. By the time they reached the pile, Pidge had stopped crying. Her breathing was ragged and her eye’s stung. She pushed past her mother on the way in and ran to her room. She dropped her backpack and jumped under her blankets.

There was a soft knock on her door.

“Pidge,” Matthew cracked the door. “Do you want to open presents? We can wait till tomorrow if you want.”

“Tomorrow. Please go,” she said.

He left and she laid in her bed for hours. She kept playing the moment the large foot made contact with Rover over and over again in her mind. The memory started to make her feel less scared and more angry. She thought about Rover upstairs and what she could do to help her friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, A Roamba is a Roomba. One of the things I like about Borrowers is the potential to get a name almost right, but still wrong. Also the roomba in my story may not entirely act like an actual roomba.


	3. Fixer Upper

When the muffled conversation and footsteps slowed to a stop, Pidge climbed out of bed. She tiptoed around her room as she collected her tools and her toolbelt. She pulled out her screwdriver and, with several rearrangements, she got it to stand up in her backpack.

She cracked her door and peeped into the hallway. It was emptied. Pidge walked silently down the hall and to the back door. By the door was her father’s gear and emptied bags. Pidge rooted through it till she found the small lightbulb and pulled it out. She checked her surroundings again before stepping outside. She slowly closed the door behind her.

Pidge adjusted her shoulder straps. She turned on the lightbulb and started her journey. It wasn’t long till she reached the elevator behind the shelf. She replicated her brother and father’s movement by cranking the level and climbing into the booth. She looked over and spotted the red button out of arm's reach. _Oh bother_ , she thought.

Pidge tried to reach it and failed. She almost got out of the booth but didn’t. She didn’t think she would have time to hit it and get back in the booth.

“It needs two people to operate. That is a design flaw,” she said out load. “Why didn’t they move the button closer to the booth?”

Pidge pulled the screwdriver out of her bag and carefully held it from the end. She leaned out of the booth and pointed the screwdriver at the button.

“You got this,” she muttered. She pushed forward and the screwdriver hit the wall next to the button. “Come on.” She tried again and again. On the fourth time, she hit it and the booth zoomed up. The momentum threw Pidge off and she grabbed the railing of the booth so she wouldn’t fall off. The screwdriver clattered onto the floor as she flew into the air. She sighed. “I was afraid that would happen.”

The elevator stopped, and she climbed out. Pidge walked over to the hidden door and paused. She mentally prepped herself for the size difference. When she felt that she was ready, she pushed the door and entered the human’s world. The room was much darker than before, but Pidge was used to darkness. She turned off the lightbulb and ran over to Rover. It was in the same place before and still broken. Pidge nearly cried again at the sight of her friend, but she held it in. Pidge inspected the cracks and gaps in the plastic casing.

“It doesn’t look too bad, Rover,” she whispered.

Pidge moved between the wall and machine and pushed the Roamba. It budged and she pushed it all the way to the couch. With several strategic pushes, Pidge was able to lean Rover against the couch. She pressed the “on” button several times, but nothing happened. She pressed the other buttons and frowned.

“It must be internal,” she muttered.

Pidge walked around the Roamba and sighed. She found the nails in the casing where she could access the insides, but she didn’t have her screwdriver. She straightened up and paced.

“I need another screwdriver. Where would a human keep their tools? Do they have an inventing room like borrowers? Do I have time to explore the house?”

Pidge paused. She decided she should search the room that she already knew.

“I’ll be right back,” Pidge said and patted Rover.

She ran to the kitchen and walked around the floor till she reached the drawers by the Sink. Pidge sat her backpack down and pulled out her fishing hook. With a hard throw, it hooked onto the counter and she started to climb the rope attached. Pidge reached the first drawer and wedged her foot between the frame and kicked it open an inch. Pidge climbed into it, turned on her lightbulb, and ducked into the drawer. To her dismay, it was filled with plastic food bags. Pidge climbed out. She went onto the second drawer. The second, third, fourth were filled with unorganized junk. Usually, Pidge would have been fascinated with the supply, but her mind was on one object. Pidge reached the top of the counter and climbed into the fifth and final drawer.

Pidge looked in and collapsed. It was filled with silverware. Hours must have passed, and she was no closer to helping Rover than when it was attacked. Any time now the human could appear. Or worse, her family would notice her missing. Pidge hugged her knees and her tail curled around her. She rocked back and forth as she thought. Pidge decided that she had to go back home.

Pidge stood up as far as she could when the light glinted off the silverware. A lightbulb went off. Pidge rooted through the silverware till she found something.

“If it won’t work, improvise,” Pidge said and held up a small blunt knife. Pidge dragged it out of the drawer and to the edge. She bit her lip and threw it over. It fell for a second before hitting the ground with the loudest clang. Pidge ducked and waited. She relaxed when there was no other noise.

Carefully, Pidge climbed down and retracted her hook. She grabbed the knife, which was just a tad too big to be comfortably carried and dragged it to the other room. Pidge reached Rover and set to work. She flipped Rover till it was on its back and slowly started twisting out each nail with the end of the knife. Pidge pulled off the casing and examined the inside of wires and plastic. She discovered that some had come loose. Pidge pulled out her tiny casing of super glue from her bag and glued the wires in place. With a few more adjustments, Pidge felt she was done.

She placed the casing back on, screwed in each nail, and flipped the Roamba over. Holding her breath, Pidge pressed the “on” button. Rover was silent for a minute before beeping. She managed to place it right side up. It began to whirl back to life and move. The machine went back to cleaning. Pidge cheered as she jumped up and down.

A tingling sensation crawled up her back and Pidge froze. She noticed the dark shape of the human appearing in another doorway and ducked under the couch. Dustbunnies covered her clothes, but she stayed quiet.

“I thought I heard something,” the human said as he walked into the room.

She watched as the feet entered the room and paused. Rover passed the human. She gasped as hands appeared and whisked the machine away. After a tense moment, the human set the Roamba down and it moved away.

“Whatever,” the human said.

The human stepped closer to the couch and thick fingers appeared in front of Pidge and picked up the knife. The human stood for a minute before walking to the kitchen. Pidge crawled out from the couch and ran to the hidden door. It was open and a figure stood in its way. Pidge slowed her run till she heard the ting of a knife being dropped. She booked her way to the door. Her mother moved out of her way and closed the door behind her.

Pidge leaned over till she got her breath back. She turned to her mother who stared at her with a closed off expression. She scared Pidge as bad as the human.

“Mom, I can explain…I..needed to help.” Pidge started. Colleen raised her eyebrow. “The human hurt Rover. I had to fix him. I…I know I am in a lot of trouble. But I had to do something.”

“You could have been hurt or Seen,” Colleen said.

“I know,” Pidge said.

“You put yourself and our family at risk to fix a machine,” she continued.

“I did,” Pidge said.

Her mother soften and smiled. “You are definitely a Holt.”

Pidge perked up. Collen sighed. “You’re not the first Holt to do that. Your father nearly killed himself trying to fix the Bean’s ‘laptop’. But that doesn’t mean you are off the hook. You are so small, Katie. Your fragile—”

“I’m not fragile,” Pidge interrupted. “I am small, but so is dad and Matthew. The humans and their world are gigantic and make all of us tiny in comparison. A few inches difference between me and you guys doesn’t matter out there. I can do everything they can. I’m not going to sit in my room while you guys explore the world. I’ll take care of myself mom, but I’m not afraid.”

Pidge shuddered at the look her mother gave her. Her tail dipped and curled around her leg. Colleen stared at her daughter for a while before nodding.

“Alright,” She said. “You want to be treated like the others, fine. Now you get to see their punishment when they do something stupid and reckless, like you did,”

She grabbed Pidge’s arm and led her to the elevator. She cut off Pidge’s complaints with one look. At the bottom of the elevator, Colleen handed the screwdriver back to Pidge.

“Never sneak out again,” she said. “But I saw the light from my window as you were leaving, and you left a trail behind you. A good borrower is more careful and doesn’t leave a trace.”

“Thanks mom,” Pidge said.

Her mother smiled. As they walked back, Colleen proceeded to tell her all the chores she would have to do as she was grounded for the next month. She couldn’t have any of her presents till she was ungrounded.

Pidge groaned but accepted it.

 _Worth it_ , she thought.


End file.
